Help Scouts around the country by adding merit badge resources to the Scouting app

Editor’s note: Since this post was published, the Helpfuls section is undergoing revisions and will be available in the near future. For updates or questions, you can email meritbadgetest@scouting.org.

We shared a new way designed to help Scouts with their merit badge work. It’s now available through Google Play or the Apple App Store: the Merit Badge Helpfuls section of the Scouting app.

This section is intended for Scouts and Scouters to post resources and links — called Helpfuls — all in one place that other Scouts and Scouters can easily find.

“We’ve created a section in the Scouting app where Scouts can pass along the online resources they’ve found,” says Will Woodard of the BSA’s national marketing department. “Maybe it’s a YouTube video. Or a TikTok. Even resources they’ve created themselves.”

Developing the Merit Badge Helpfuls section

Woodard was listening to the speakers at a digital communication conference and was amazed at all the different ways youth are communicating online. He knew Scouts often scour the internet for the information they need to fulfill merit badge requirements.

“I wondered if there might be a way we could harness their efforts by creating a place where Scouts could safely share what they found online that had helped them complete a merit badge requirement. A place where they could fulfill the Scout Law — to be helpful,” Woodard says.

With the aid of several groups at the National Council — programming, marketing, data and in-house talent to provide voice-overs — the idea grew into the new section.

How to use it

To use the Helpfuls section, follow these steps:

1. Open the Scouting app
2. Click on the Troop button under your Scout’s name
3. Go to Advancements/Merit Badges/See All
4. Click on a merit badge
5. Click on the three lines in the top right of the screen
6. Click the Helpfuls button

This link takes you to a page where you can fill in all the information needed to share your resource with others. Your submitted Helpful will be vetted for appropriate content, and after approval will be added to the Helpfuls list for that requirement.

If you don’t have a login to the Scouting app, you can still add Helpfuls. For an in-depth tutorial, watch this video:

Merit Badge App Explainer.mp4 from Boy Scouts of America on Vimeo.

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Send feedback

If you see something that doesn’t seem to work, you can send an email here. When you do, please:

• Describe the problem.
• Tell us what you were doing just before the problem occurred.
• Note whether this error happens every time you try.

Since it just launched, the Helpful pages might seem a little empty, so log on and share yours!